Leicestershire Liberal Democrats Express Concerns Over Care Home Sales

It has been revealed that the company that Leicestershire sold its care homes to last year has been unable to pay by the deadline. A report going to the Leicestershire County Council revealed that while £0.9m has been paid so far, including interest, £2.4 million still remains to be paid.

Leicestershire County Care Ltd purchased the homes last September and were given a year to pay the full amount but have failed to meet the deadline. The Conservative Cabinet will need to make a decision on Friday on whether to extend the deadline by another six months.

Cllr David Bill said "It is a Liberal Democrat priority to secure the future of our care homes, particularly The Limes in Hinckley and Harvey House in Barwell. We never agreed with this sale in the first place and now hearing that most of the money has still not been paid gives cause for concern."

The company has started applying for loans and hopes to have raised the capital within six to eight weeks. The Liberal Democrats are calling for a contingency plan in case payment has still not been made by the extended deadline.

David Price - North West Leicestershire Comments

It is no secret that Care Homes up and down the country are struggling to make money. And a major reason for that is whilst costs of care have been rising the contribution from Local Authorities for residents who qualify has been squeezed far too low.